Memorial service scheduled
Saturday March 3 at the Wizard Academy
Charles Albert O'Dell, who was born August 2, 1936, the second of four children to Maurice "Pat" O'Dell and Mary Frances Davis in a converted barn in Refugio, Texas, died tragically in an automobile-motorcycle accident in San Marcos, Texas, February 1, 2012. O'Dell was in San Marcos conducting business for Hays Community Action Network, the non-profit county watchdog organization he co-founded in 2003 and to which he had dedicated the past several years of his life.
Growing up on a farm in Lancaster, Texas, O'Dell was driven and industrious, and he loved a challenge. He raised prized calves, could pick a bale of cotton in a day and loved to fish and hunt. He and his brother were the first in his family to go to college. O'Dell attended Catholic Seminary in Kentucky. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education and a master’s in agricultural economics. He earned a Ph.D. in resource economics at the University of Maryland while working as an economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.
A strong believer in creating opportunity for all, O'Dell took time off from his doctoral studies to serve as a USDA federal liaison officer at Prairie View A&M College in support of a federal development project. When administrators blocked his recommendations, O'Dell supported students and faculty in their demands for reform. His analytic skills and expertise in commodities earned him assignments in both the public and private sectors. O'Dell served on President Richard Nixon's Cost of Living Council to provide food policy analysis, and he later worked as manager of materials planning for Anheuser-Busch Inc. in St. Louis. He also served as director of economic research and commodity analysis for The Kroger Company and as CEO of AgriShip International Systems Inc. in Washington, D. C.
O'Dell and his wife Susan moved to Hays County in 1999 where he saw the need for an organization to inform and educate Hays County citizens regarding public affairs and responsibilities. He joined with Erin Foster of Bear Creek to incorporate HaysCAN. The two began to attend meetings where public business was being conducted and to publicize their findings often through the Hays County RoundUp. When public servants were reluctant to conduct the public's business openly, HaysCAN learned to use the power of the open records request to get information that belongs to the public.
His research focused on issues that affect citizens, most often land and water use. Concerned about the effects of rapid growth on water quality in Hays County, O’Dell became a water quality monitor for Lower Colorado River Authority. He participated in numerous stakeholder processes including the Dripping Springs-LCRA Regional Water Quality Protection Plan, Hays County Subdivision Rules Revision committee, and Hays County Envision Central Texas. He served as a poll watcher, and he became a master naturalist. He served as president of the Ethical Society of Austin, as a scoutmaster in Virginia, and he served meals to the homeless at Austin Resource Center for the Homeless. He never was able to say "no" when someone asked him for help of any kind…even a 2 a.m. ride from the airport.
Charles knew how to have fun when he wasn't working for HaysCAN. He was a movie buff, he could "name that tune" in three notes if it was from the Big Band era, and he was a world traveler, not a tourist. He loved to dance, especially the two-step when Hank Williams was playing. He wrote poetry and he grew vegetables. In fact, his old blue pickup with the "Okra is Alright" sticker was known all over Hays county.
Surviving O'Dell are his wife Susan Doupé; his son Michael O'Dell and wife Beth Mertz and their daughter Madeline of San Francisco; daughter Alice O'Dell Brannon and husband Benjamin and their son Jonathan of Cincinnati; and daughter Kate O'Dell, also of Cincinnati; his children's mother Peggy Maloy O'Dell of Cincinnati. O'Dell is also survived by his sister Judy White of Seguin and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Mike O'Dell and his sister Vera Ann Vaught.
A memorial service for Charles will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 3, 2012, at Wizard Academy just off County Road 1826 in Austin. All are welcome. Doors open at 2 p.m. More information can be found at http://hayscan.org/?p=108.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers contributions be made to radio station KUT 90.5, Hays County Food Bank, or www.instituteforcivility.org.
